Photo Essays

A U.S. Army soldier searches for enemy movement during Operation Moshtarak in Badula Qulp in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Feb. 19, 2010. The soldiers are assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment.
U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Efren Lopez

U.S. Army soldiers respond to an attack while conducting a patrol in a field during Operation Helmand Spider in Badula Qulp in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Feb. 15, 2010.
U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Efren Lopez

U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Ryan Clay, left, and Cpl. Anthony Deprimo, study a map while on a patrol in Marjah in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Feb. 21, 2010. Clay and Deprimo are assigned to India Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. The Marines and Afghan National army soldiers patrolled through a residential area of the city as part of Operation Moshtarak, a push to rid Marjah of Taliban presence and intimidation.
U.S. Marine Crops photo by Lance Cpl. Tommy Bellegarde

U.S. Army Sgt. William Wallace briefs his platoon before going to examine an improvised explosive device cache that was found in Sharana, Paktika province, Afghanistan, Feb. 15, 2010. Wallace is assigned to the 25th Infantry Division’s Tactical Assault Command and Control, 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade.
U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jeffrey Alexander

Retired U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Larry Snowden, chairman of the Iwo Jima Assoc. of America, left, presents U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway with a war document that he carried home from the Battle of Iwo Jima, The National Museum of the Marine Corps, Triangle, Va., Feb. 19, 2010. The men spoke at the 65th anniversary commemoration of the battle.
DoD photo by Lisa Daniel

Dirt flies off a U.S. paratrooper's boots as he finishes a parachute landing fall with other paratroopers stationed on Camp Ramadi, Iraq, Feb. 5, 2010. The paratroopers are participating in a basic airborne refresher course taught by instructors visiting from Advanced Airborne School on Fort Bragg, N.C., to prepare for upcoming airborne exercises. The paratroopers are assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Brigade, an Advise and Assist Brigade.
U.S. Army photo by Spc. Michael J. MacLeod